Operational services of diverse partners brought together for the first time
Brussels Airport is innovative in its way of working, and for the first time has brought together the operational services of various partners at the airport within the new ‘Airport Operations Centre’. In an increasingly complex environment where the focus is on providing service to the passenger, it was a logical step to centralise the airport operations of diverse partners to allow them to cooperate more closely.
Passengers, baggage, aircraft: these are the basic elements of the operations at the airport. A complex gridwork of systems and partners ensures that, from check-in (with or without baggage) right up to the moment the aircraft departs, everything runs smoothly and efficiently. In order to make the passenger’s journey through the airport even more efficient in this increasingly complex environment, Brussels Airport Company has set up the Airport Operations Centre.
“All the partners at the airport have the same objective: to optimise the operations and to guarantee passengers the maximum degree of punctuality. Being together physically at one location will facilitate communication, while problem situations can be anticipated better and information more efficiently shared. This innovative way of working will therefore increase the efficiency of operations at the airport, which can only benefit the passenger’s experience”, says Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company.
All the parties working in the Airport Operations Centre can quickly discuss issues together and take immediate action to prevent or solve potential problems.
Who is working at the Airport Operations Centre?
• Brussels Airport Company: the departments of Airside Inspection, Security, Customer & Passenger Services, Stand & Gate and Control Room.
• Brussels Airlines
• Swissport
• Aviapartner
• G4S
“In due course, we will extend the centre further to include more airport partners and more colleagues from our own services at Brussels Airport Company”, says CEO Arnaud Feist. “The Airport Operations Centre should involve a process of continuous improvement. The centre is off to a good start, but the real story of the Airport Operations Centre is only just beginning.”
Since the centre is bringing together employees from diverse backgrounds, the employees themselves have agreed some house rules. During various training sessions about the Airport Operations Centre, special attention was paid to these standards and rules of conduct, which the employees themselves believe are important in their new workplace. The most important elements are: a positive attitude, order and neatness, efficient communication and the sharing of information.
Airport Operations Centre location
The Airport Operations Centre is located in the transit hall of the Old Terminal. In the central control room, employees have a clear overview at all times of the actual situation of the airport processes and of the expectations for the coming hours, thanks to an impressive video wall. This high-tech wall consists of 14 full HD retro projection screens and is over 10 metres long. The wall was made by Barco and is a technological feat of Belgian origin.
July 16, 2015
